D.C. Wire: July 4, 2010 - July 10, 2010

(Cross-posted from DeBonis.) On Friday, Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) is debuting TV commercials touting his commitment to affordable housing, small business and neighborhood development. Fenty himself appears in none of the ads, leaving unidentified District residents to talk up Fenty's record. But these aren't exactly man-on-the-street testimonials: Two of the...

D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles, who is out of town, was a no-show Friday at a D.C. Council roundtable on his agreement last week to pay $550,000 to settle a claim by a firm owned by a friend of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and under investigation by the council.

The District cannot afford to make it a crime for city employees to engage in politicking or electioneering while on duty or dressed in a city uniform or driving a taxpayer funded vehicle, according to a fiscal impact statement issued by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. The council...

The D.C mayoral race now has one less candidate, and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) has one more supporter. The eccentric Dennis Sobin, director of the Safe Arts Foundation, announced Friday that he's withdrawing from the race and supporting Gray.

The city now owns United Medical Center, the only hospital serving residents east of the Anacostia River, after bidding $20 million for the beleaguered facility after no other offers were made during an auction Friday.

D.C. Council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large), who wants to take over the council's top job and control the District's purse strings, acknowledged Thursday that he has maxed out three credit cards for a total of almost $50,000.

Henri Cauvin reports on Post Now that D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) wants the parents of children who are skipping school to face tougher financial penalties, including the potential loss of welfare benefits.

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) Thursday called on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to fire Attorney General Peter Nickles, arguing Nickles has become "the mayor's political hatchet man" instead of the city's top lawyer. Gray, who is challenging Fenty in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, accused Nickles of "protecting...

Four years after the D.C. Council passed a "living wage" law, the city's independent auditor says the measure has not been implemented and that D.C. workers "may not be receiving an equitable hourly wage."

Michael DeBonis is reporting on his blog that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty received a ticket last night from a D.C. police officer for failing to signal a right turn while driving in Chinatown in his city-owned Smart car.

In the race to replace Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large) picked up another endorsement this week from the local business community. The D.C. Chamber gave its blessing to Brown's candidacy after interviews with Brown and former Ward 5 council member Vincent Orange. "Both candidates...

Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) appears to be cruising to an easy reelection over his two rivals for the Democratic nomination, according to an internal poll conducted by his campaign from July 28 to July 1.